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Digitized Sky Survey 2 Image of M82 and M81

Digitized Sky Survey 2 Image of M82 and M81


Date: 24 April 2006
Depicts: Messier 81, M 81, Messier 82, M 82, Cigar Galaxy
Copyright: ESA/Hubble and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgements: Davide De Martin (http://www.skyfactory.org)

The spiral galaxy M81 and the neighbour galaxy M82 are forming a physical pair. A few tens of million years ago, the smaller M82 collided with M81. This gravitational interaction deformed M82 and caused its concentrated burst of star formation.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
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18-Dec-2025 15:37 UT

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